In Mexico City, an animal sanctuary for big cats, operated by a California charity, was raided by authorities on Tuesday. Officials removed 190 lions, tigers, jaguars and other animals found in “deplorable conditions.” Aside from the big cats, 17 primates and two coyotes were also removed from the premises.
According to USA Today, the Black Jaguar -White Tiger Foundation, whose offices are based in California and Florida, operates the sanctuary which is located on the outskirts of Mexico City is run by Eduardo Serio. Celebrities have been donating to the sanctuary to help care for the rescued exotic animals.
PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, had been waging a huge controversy against Serio claiming his operation is a sham for money while exploiting animals.
According to Mexico’s Attorney General, Serio is wanted for the “extreme abandonment and mistreatment of hundreds of large felines.”
Mexico’s Association of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums (AZCARM) put out a tweet denouncing the sanctuary. Investigators have been given photographic evidence of the deplorable conditions the animals were forced to exist which included little food, no veterinary care and insufficient space to even move around.
Many have visible wounds, many of the animals are in various states of malnutrition. We have horrible testimony that some animals have been sacrificed while others have devoured themselves to avoid starvation.
Mexico’s Attorney General Office
Ernesto Zazueta, head of the zoo association, said some of the monkeys and three lions could be taken to Mexico City zoos this week, and there were plans to send 50 of the animals to zoos west of the capital and in the northern states of Guanajuato and Sinaloa.
The animals were in “a horrible situation,” he said. “Some of their tails are missing, they had been eaten. Others lack an eye, an ear. They are very, very thin, dehydrated.”
Serio had defended his sanctuary claiming that he had rescued some of the animals and that some of them arrived in bad shape. He also stated donations had drastically decreased since the Covid 19 pandemic.
(Photos via PETA, Twitter and Mexico’s Attorney General Office)
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